


After Midnight

by sarken



Category: Third Watch
Genre: F/M, Juvenilia, New Year's Eve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-06-23
Updated: 2003-06-23
Packaged: 2017-10-07 19:49:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/68581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarken/pseuds/sarken
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/68580">Timing</a>, Bosco visits Faith.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After Midnight

**Author's Note:**

> A sequel to [](http://archiveofourown.org/works/68580)Timing.

Bosco drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited for the light to turn green. He anxiously glanced at his watch and saw that he only had ten minutes to get all the way to Faith's apartment. "Come on," he muttered as the red light remained, seemingly taunting him.

If only he had gotten off five minutes earlier! He supposed that he should be grateful, though, since he had been expecting to work all night and not just until twelve forty. Still, five minutes would have made all the difference in the world.

Maybe it was a sign, he thought as the light changed and he stepped on the gas. It was possible that Fred was at home and this was a warning to stay away. Possible, but not likely. Fred was probably still out drinking and Faith...Bosco realized he had no idea what Faith was doing. For all he knew, she could have been fast asleep.

He considered turning around and heading home to get some sleep himself, but then he thought of what he might miss. At the very least, he wouldn't get to see her looking adorable with her hair mussed from sleeping, wearing her pajamas and looking at him through sleepy, half-opened eyes. And then there was the possibility of another mind-blowing kiss, one that he would be ready for and able to take full advantage of this time.

Those thoughts kept him driving, although there was a nagging voice in the back of his mind, warning him that he may have been pushing his luck. Be happy with what you got, Boscorelli. If she hadn't been so upset earlier, she probably wouldn't have even considered kissing you, said the voice, which Bosco could imagine as high-pitched and belonging to some extremely annoying woman named Shirley.

"Shut up," Bosco muttered as he found a parking place and pulled in.

He nervously climbed the stairs and walked down the hall to Faith's apartment. Had a girl made him this jumpy since junior high? He didn't think so.

He knocked on the door.

*******

Faith curled up on the couch, her chin resting on the pillow she was hugging. I wish I was there, she thought as she watched the New Year's celebrations on television. "But here I am, waiting for my husband to come home," she said aloud. "Why, though? So I can get yelled at, or maybe clean up when he pukes all over the rug. I can't believe this is my life..."

Her brooding was interrupted by a knock on the door. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, preparing herself for the confrontation she would have with her husband. Faith stood and, in an effort to delay the inevitable, smoothed her dress that she hadn't bothered changing out of.

She walked to the door, unlocked it, and slowly opened it. To her surprise, it wasn't her drunken husband, but her very uncertain-looking partner. "Bosco?"

"Hi," he greeted her, jamming his hands into his pockets as he did when he was nervous. "Fred around?"

Faith shook her head. "No, he didn't come home yet. Come on in for a while," she said, leading him into the apartment.

Bosco took off his jacket and tossed into onto a nearby chair as he and Faith went to sit on the couch. The living room was dark except for the light of the TV, and he couldn't help but wonder why Faith hadn't turned the lights on, even now that he was here. "So, are the kids asleep?" he asked, assuming that was the reason for it being dark and quiet.

"They better be, or I'm going to have to have words with Stanley." At Bosco's confused look, she explained, "That's where they are -- I couldn't leave them alone while Fred and I went out, and I wasn't about to take the time to find a sitter. Even if I did, it would probably cost me an arm and a leg. Thank God for siblings, huh?"

"Yeah," Bosco said a bit sarcastically, thinking of his kid brother and how screwed up he'd gotten.

"So," Faith began, picking at the fuzzy throw that was draped over the arm of the couch, "what brings you here at nearly one in the morning? I don't think you wanted to ask about Fred and the kids."

"Lieu let me off early and I was thinking about you, walking home alone. I guess I wanted to see if you needed company." It was a half-truth, which had to be better than an outright lie.

"Thanks," she murmured, leaning heavily against him. "It's depressing to be alone like this on New Year's, especially waiting up for Fred. He's going to come home and either pass out, puke, or pick a fight. He was supposed to stop drinking, Boz."

"Maybe it's just tonight. I mean, people who hardly ever touch the stuff get tanked on New Year's Eve, right?" Bosco brought his hand up and toyed with the strands of blonde hair that had fallen out of place.

"You know as well as I do that it doesn't work that way," Faith said, her tone indicating that she wasn't annoyed, but that she was stating a simple fact that she and Bosco had come to accept during their lives. "It's a nice thought, though...a real nice thought. Like something out of a fairy tale almost."

Bosco didn't comment, instead staring at the television as the scene switched to another city that was preparing to ring in the New Year. He watched the numbers slowly count down the minutes as he continued to play with Faith's hair. It felt so natural to him that he thought nothing of how familiar and intimate it was to be with her like that, watching her eyelids drift shut as she fought a losing battle with sleep.

"Do you ever wish we could both have a fairy tale ending, Boz?" she asked sleepily, leaning into Bosco more and more. A few silent moments ticked by before she dozed off completely, becoming a dead weight as she rested against him.

"Yeah, me and you, Faith, happily ever after. Just don't tell," he whispered, knowing she would never hear. He smiled a slight, tight-lipped smile and stood, putting his jacket on before covering her with the throw and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Fred will never know I was here, Bosco thought. When he drags his sorry ass home, all he'll see is his loving wife who fell asleep while waiting up for him. Satisfied with that, Bosco left and quietly shut the door behind him.

He paused for a moment to look at his watch, which read one minute past one. So, he hadn't gotten what he came for -- but he couldn't help feeling that he'd gotten so much more.


End file.
